FV219: Bittersweet
by Fifth Voyager
Summary: Voyager stops by a planet that is well known for it's huge music interest.
1. Chapter 1

Bittersweet

**Episode Synopsis**  
Voyager stops by a planet that is well known for it's huge music interest. Virus and Pulse enter a band audition to try and get the privilege to be able to perform for the natives. Because of the totally different style the bands use they get awfully popular. Both bands start to realise that being popular isn't all it's cracked up to be.

**Guest Stars**  
Marill as herself  
Raichu as herself  
Firera as herself  
Charizard as himself  
Jeff Hardy as Ashley  
Nicolas Brendon as James Johnstone  
Tom Lenk as Scot Williams

**Written By**  
Marill, Raichu, Firera & Charizard

**Written**  
22nd, 29th December 2001 & 26th January 2002

**Edited**  
18th August 2005

**Episode Based In**  
20th - 26th December 2377

**The Bridge:**  
The usual people were at their usual places. Everyone's eyes were on Tom as he worked at his station.

"Bring us into orbit, Mr Paris," Kathryn ordered.

"Yes ma'am," Tom said without taking his eyes off the console.

"As soon as we're in orbit set us to auto pilot," Chakotay ordered.

"Aye sir," Tom said.

"Harry, lets see the planet," Kathryn said.

Harry nodded in response, and he worked on his console.

The viewscreen changed it's view to show a beautiful green and blue planet. The light from a nearby star was reflecting off the northern atmosphere.

"What a beautiful place to spend Christmas. Nothing could possibly go wrong this year," Kathryn said.

Everyone glanced at each other nervously.

"But Kathryn, something's bound to happen. Something's happened in the last six Christmases, and they didn't even happen in an episode," Chakotay said.

"I'm pretty sure Year 2's was in Before Fifth Voyager," Kathryn muttered.

"Captain, that hasn't even started yet," Tom pointed out.

"I know that," Kathryn said sharply.

"So, Harry, what do you think'll happen this year?" Tom asked as he turned around his chair.

"I don't know, it can't be as bad as last year's Christmas," Harry replied.

"Oh, here we go, flashback time," Chakotay said.

**Christmas 2376, before 'Disconnected':**  
Everyone on the Bridge were incredibly drunk. The ship was flying side to side as Tom was flying it with a bottle of vodka in his hand.

"Hey guys, look at this!" Harry yelled in a slurry voice. He activated the viewscreen, it showed a huge green nebula. "If you tilt your head a bit, it looks like a Christmas tree."

Everyone turned their heads. A few people, including Lena, fell over.

"Oh yeah," a few people muttered.

Lena stood back up. "Ooh look, pretty lights," she said as she pointed at the nebula. Everyone looked again.

"Hey she's right, there's some strange lights coming from there," Harry said.

"Lets have a look inside the Christmas tree," Tom said in a slurry voice.

The ship suddenly flew forward, and it headed toward the nebula.

"Oh st!" nearly everyone screamed.

The ship flew back out, followed by hundreds of Tolg ships.

**Back to the Present:**  
"We barely got away alive," Harry said.

"Wait a minute, no one told me about that," Kathryn said angrily. She stared at Harry. He cowered.

"Er.. Captain, the Dellia is hailing us," Harry said quickly.

"Put it on screen," Chakotay said. Kathryn continued to glare at Harry.

The viewscreen's image changed once again to show the insides to the Dellia Z5.

"Right guys, I've informed the guys in charge of this planet, we've got a week," Lilly said.

"We're planning on leaving on Boxing Day though," Kathryn said.

"Well, we've got an extra day, I'd suggest staying here until our time runs out," Lilly said.

"What's so good about this planet anyway?" Tom asked.

"It's thee holiday spot. Ligers travel from all over the galaxy to spend their holidays here," Johnstone replied.

"You see lots of alien species are allowed to stay here, also I suggested this place cos it's been celebrating Christmas for four years now," Lilly said.

"It's probably the only place in the Quadrant that does," Harry muttered.

"Exactly," Lilly said.

Kathryn keyed in some commands on the console at her left side.

"Janeway to all hands, shore leave has officially begun," Kathryn said.

**Later than afternoon**  
**The planet:**  
Lena and Kiara were heading towards a small cafe in the middle of a town. It was summer at this part of the planet, so the sun was shining brightly and people were walking around with light clothes on.

"I still don't see why I have to put up with you," Lena said.

"Don't you ever stop complaining, geez," Kiara muttered.

Lena stopped and she looked at a poster on the cafe window. Kiara stopped too, and she headed back the way she came.

"Looks like the Popstars craze is everywhere," Kiara said as she looked at the poster.

"This one's a little fairer though, the winner gets to perform at this mini concert on a live TV show. The two runners up perform one song live on the same show," Lena said.

"I hope you're not planning something here," Kiara muttered.

"What would be the point of me ignoring something like this. I think Virus should enter," Lena said.

"But you guys are already a band in a way, it's suppose to be bands to be," Kiara said.

"They wont know, besides this gives me something to do," Lena said.

"Fine, if you're entering your band into the contest, then I'm entering mine," Kiara said.

"That's a funny one, you guys will get creamed. According to Lilly, Ligers' music is all loud rock," Lena said.

"Being different will give us the advantage, besides you guys don't do rock either," Kiara said.

"I suppose that being different thing will work for my band, but boring ballads are a long way from loud rock," Lena said.

"We'll soon see, Pulse is going to win that contest," Kiara said.

"Virus will," Lena said.

They both stared angrily at each other, and they stood facing each other, only a centimetre apart.

"Pulse will win!" Kiara yelled.

"No, Virus will. You little brats suck!" Lena yelled.

"The people in your band belong in a circus, not in a band!" Kiara yelled.

"Your band belongs in a Pre-school!" Lena yelled.

"We will win!" Kiara yelled.

"Virus will win!" Lena yelled.

"Will not!" Kiara yelled.

"Will to!" Lena yelled.

A waiter from the cafe came up to them.

"Would you like a menu?" he asked the two girls. They stared at him.

"Yeah," Lena replied. She took the menu off the waiter, and she hit Kiara across the head with it. She handed it back to the waiter.

"That's not what I meant," the waiter muttered.

"One moment, please," Lena said.

"Are you sure you're not the reincarnation of James' dad? I remember James telling me that his dad used to beat him," Kiara muttered as she rubbed her head.

"Oh, I can easily beat his dad, just give me some heavy objects and something made of glass," Lena said.

"Is that a threat?" Kiara said questioningly.

"You bet it is," Lena said.

"Fine, I'm going to tell your mum about this," Kiara said, and she stormed off.

"Oh yeah, I'm scared, really!" Lena yelled after her.

"I doubt she has seen your new hair colour, Lena!" Kiara yelled back as she disappeared around the corner.

"What do I care," Lena muttered to herself. She turned to face the waiter. "Can I have a menu now?" she asked.

The waited looked at the menu Lena had used before. It had a huge dent in it. "I'll give you a different one," he replied. He pulled a menu out from behind the other one.

**Holodeck 2, one** **hour later:**  
Virus were standing around the room. Lena was fiddling with the holodeck controls.

"Are you sure you're not just using this contest to beat Kiara?" Jessie asked.

"No of course not. If I wanted to beat Kiara, I'd just smash her head against the wall," Lena replied as she continued to work at the console.

"Why do you hate her so much?" Craig asked.

Lena stopped what she was doing, and she turned around.

"Am I allowed to say? True Q still hasn't been uploaded," Lena replied.

"Well we've said an awful lot about the episode already, so maybe," Craig said.

"All right, fine, if you really want to know why I hate her, I'll tell you. When that stupid Q told me that she was really my kid, I knew at that point that my life was ruined," Lena said in a huffy manner. She folded her arms tightly.

"Somehow, I don't think that it was Kiara's fault," Jessie muttered.

"What are you talking about? Of course it was her fault, when she found out herself she didn't care about how I felt. It was all her. Even the entire crew were on her side. Nobody cared about how I felt," Lena said.

"I hope you're not including me," Craig said quietly.

"Well, maybe just you three were on my side, I suppose," Lena muttered.

The four heard the doors opening. In unison they all turned to face the doors.

Naomi, Kiara and Bryan had stopped as soon as they came through the doors.

"We'll have to practise later," Naomi muttered.

"No way. We wont have time later," Kiara said.

"Maybe we could share the holodeck," Craig said. Lena and Kiara glared at him in true Janeway style. He cowered.

"Listen titch, we got here first, so you and your fellow pre-schoolers can go and play somewhere else," Lena said.

"Why should we, there's no where else we can go," Kiara said.

"There's no where else we can go!" Lena yelled back.

"Can I suggest something without being glared at?" Craig asked. The two girls looked in his direction. "For the contest we only need to perform one song. We could practise for about ten minutes, then Pulse can practise for ten minutes."

"So I have to watch my tart of a mother," Kiara muttered.

"Who are you calling a tart?" Lena growled.

"I'm sure ten minutes wont be that bad," Craig said quietly.

"I suppose it's a good idea, but if that kid starts with any remarks.." Lena said.

"You think mine are bad, just wait until those Ligers see you," Kiara said.

Craig, Jessie & James went over to the corner so the two arguing girls wouldn't hear them.

"If this keeps going on, none of us will have time to practise," Jessie said. The three stood in mid thought for a few seconds.

"I've got an idea," James said suddenly.

"That figures," Craig muttered.

"What do you mean?" Jessie asked.

"Never mind," Craig replied.

"What's your idea?" Jessie asked.

"Well I thought there is a way both bands can practise in here, without having to be in the same room," James replied.

"We just program two separate places for us," Jessie said.

"Why didn't I think of that, it's so simple," Craig said questioningly. Everyone else came over to the group.

"Well only Lena's boyfriend would be that dense," Kiara said.

"Hey, I didn't see you think up anything like that," Lena said.

Everyone groaned as Kiara and Lena went into yet another argument.

"Shouldn't somebody get programming," Naomi said.

"I'll do it," James said, and he walked away from the others.

"Slut, slut, slut," Kiara chanted.

"How can I be a slut, you stupid piece of st!" Lena yelled.

"Slut, slut, slut," Kiara continued to chant.

"Look, Jessie's more of a slut than me!" Lena yelled. Kiara stopped chanting, and James stopped working. Everyone looked Lena's way.

"Who are you calling a slut?" Jessie asked angrily.

"Don't take it that way, Jess. I'm just comparing," Lena said.

"And that's suppose to make me feel better?" Jessie asked.

"Oh for god's sake it wasn't meant to be an insult. I didn't mean that you are a slut, I was just saying that you have a bigger chance of being a slut than I do," Lena replied.

"Er... I think we should get out of the way," Craig muttered. Kiara, Naomi & Bryan nodded slowly and they backed off.

"I'm not a slut! I was bloody drunk and under a love spell!" Jessie yelled.

"I know that! That's my point! I only had Kiara because that Q clicked his fingers and made it happen!" Lena yelled back.

"I don't get why they're arguing," Bryan muttered.

"Get used to it Bryan, I've never understood girls," Craig said.

"Excuse me!" Kiara and Naomi yelled.

"Look at it this way. I'm a virgin. Virgins cannot be sluts," Lena said.

"What's that got to do with me!" Jessie yelled.

Lena groaned. "I just said you are more of a slut than I am. I didn't say you were one at all," she said in a near calm way.

"I didn't sound that way to me!" Jessie snapped.

Everyone else groaned. James came over to the others. "The, er, program's ready," he said. Right on cue the program activated. They were all on a stage in a small studio. "Both are the same, so there's nothing more to fight about."

"Don't look at me, I never start the fights.. she does," Kiara said. Lena stopped arguing with Jessie and she turned to look at Kiara.

"I start the fights, do I?" Lena said.

"Erm, can I just butt in. If we don't start practising, neither band has a chance at winning this competition," Craig said.

Lena looked at Kiara, then at Jessie, and she nodded her head. Jessie and Kiara agreed.

"Ok, we're getting this stage," Kiara said.

"No, we were here first. It's not far to the other stage!" Lena yelled.

Everyone groaned.

"Kiara, lets just goto the other stage," Naomi said.

"Ok, whatever," Kiara muttered, and she walked away. Naomi and Bryan slowly followed.

"So, now can we get on with practise?" James asked.

Lena and Jessie glanced at each other, and then they quickly looked away.

"Yeah we can. We can all just forget about that silly argument, right girls?" Craig said questioningly.

Both of the girls shrugged their shoulders.

"Great, this is not going to be easy," Craig muttered.

**Later that night**  
**The planet:**  
A lot of Ligers, and several Voyager crewmembers were in this large club. A Liger man walked up onto the stage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention please," the man said.

Nearly everyone quietened down and they looked at the man.

"We've hit a new record this year, folks. This year we have five competitive bands instead of three," the man said.

All the Ligers cheered loudly.

"Two of the bands are from our visiting ship, please welcome Virus and Pulse!" the man yelled.

Virus and Pulse came onto the stage. All of the Voyager crewmembers cheered. Most of the Ligers followed their lead. Some people notice the little fact that Lena's hair is now dyed red.

"And also welcome our home bands, LG, 54x, and The Party Crashers!" the man yelled. Three other bands came onto the stage. One band had only two members, the other two bands had three. "You know the rules by now folks. Each band sing their best song, and you guys vote for your favourite. And remember, don't vote just because the band is from where you're from. Anyway, the band with the most votes will perform a mini concert for RTV tomorrow night! The two runners up will perform one song on RTV. Unfortunately this time there will be some losers, but we'll let you decide who," the man said.

Tom was one of the audience members and he yelled, "the two losers better not be you guys! Do Voyager proud!" The two Voyager bands looked at each other. Lena put up her thumbs up meekly, towards Tom.

"Er, thanks Tommy," she said.

"Tonight we're going in alphabetical order. So first up is 54x!" the man yelled.

The other bands left the stage. 54x was the two member band, and they started to set up an electric guitar and a microphone.

"Hi, er, I'm Darien. We're going to dedicate this song to our best buddies, Tiro and Yri!" the guy with the microphone yelled. Two guys in the crowd started yelling.

"Go 54x, wooh!" they yelled.

The other guy started playing on the guitar, and Darien started dancing really oddly. He started singing, really badly. The Ligers seemed to be enjoying the Rock style music, even though the guy couldn't sing. Some of the Voyager crewmembers tried to block their ears out of sight. Some Voyager crewmembers were also enjoying it, and they were dancing.

After LG performed really well, Pulse were up next.

"I don't see why you get to sing all the time," Naomi whispered.

"I can sing better than you," Kiara said.

"No you can't!" Naomi yelled.

Bryan looked uneasy, everyone in the audience were watching them.

"That's it, I'm going to join a band that'll let me do something instead of standing around looking pretty," Naomi said.

"You can't even do that," Kiara said.

"You cow!" Naomi screeched and she stormed off the stage.

The announcer guy came up to Kiara and Bryan.

"Pulse will perform last, after Virus," he said.

"What the hell for?" Kiara asked angrily.

"To give you time to calm down, obviously. You can't sing a ballad when you're angry," Bryan replied.

"Ok, fine," Kiara muttered. She and Bryan left the stage.

"That was a good start," Tom muttered.

"Yeah," Harry said.

"Now, lets welcome The Party Crashers!" the announcer guy yelled.

Quite a lot of the audience left for a 'toilet break' as soon as the band started singing. Conveniently they came back once they had finished. The Party Crashers looked proud of themselves as they walked off the stage.

"Erm, well, lets welcome the other Human band, Virus," the announcer guy said.

Virus came onto the stage. Lena started fixing something at the sides of the stage, everyone else got into their positions.

Lena stood at the front, and Craig stood at her left. Jessie stood next to Craig, and James stood on Lena's right.

The song Roses Are Red started playing. After Lena sang her first part, the machines at the side of the stage started blowing rose petals onto the stage.

Lena sang the first verse as she wandered around the front of the stage, singing into her microphone Craig went upto the front of the stage, which caused a few Liger girls to scream, not in fear either. Voyager crewmembers looked oddly at them.

Craig tried to ignore that little surprise and he sang his verse. He and Lena walked backwards to join the other two. They stood more or less in line as the chorus started. They were doing a very simple dance routing, surprisingly in sync with each other.

The chorus ended, and the main music came on. The band just started catching all of the rose petals that were blown at them, and they threw them at the audience.

Jessie went upto the front of the stage and she started singing her verse. After she sang the 'show me with a kiss' bit, James came up to her, and he kissed her on the cheek, and he went closer to the front of the stage. The Liger girls did the same to him, as they did to Craig. He then started singing his part of the verse.

What the band didn't know was that Pulse were watching them from backstage. Bryan was dancing slightly.

"I love this song," he said. Kiara glared at him and he immediately cowered.

"We can do a lot better than them," Kiara said.

"Yeah, but they have a dancey song. Why don't we do a dancey song?" Bryan asked.

"Lena knows our style, if we suddenly change it she'll think that I'm copying off her," Kiara replied.

"Oh, ok," Bryan muttered.

They both heard the audience cheering loudly as the song finished. The announcer came onto the stage.

"Wow, that was sure different wasn't it folks. Well now we have our final band, Pulse!" the announcer yelled. Virus left the stage as Pulse came on.

The pair stood next to each other, both with microphones in their hands.

"Remember, don't just stand there like usual ballad singers do," Kiara whispered.

"Right, ok," Bryan whispered back.

The song Turn Back Time started playing. Kiara started singing the first verse as she slowly made her way around the stage. Some of the Ligers looked a little surprised at the change of music. The Voyager crewmembers started swaying their arms back and forth to the music. The Ligers soon copied.

Kiara and Bryan sang the main chorus, and Kiara sang the next verse. They surprised everyone with the sudden dancy part to the song. The song slowed back down, and the pair sang the chorus repeatedly, and the music faded out. The audience cheered loudly at the band. The announcer came onto the stage.

"Well, that one was unique. It was slow, but it was brilliant!" the announcer yelled. The Voyager crewmembers cheered loudly. Pulse went off the stage. "Ok, folks. It's voting time. You can either vote for 54x with their screaming version of 'Rock the Planet', LG with their fast yet rocktastic version of that old classic 'Three's Even Better', The Party Crashers with their own, erm, rocky melody, Virus with their unique dance style and voices, or Pulse with their slow yet cool melody," the announcer said.

Everyone wasted no time voting in the temporary cubicles.

**Half and hour later:**  
Nearly every main cast member was now in the club to see the results. Everyone started cheering as the announcer came onto the stage again.

"Ok folks, we finally have the results!" the announcer exclaimed.

Everyone cheered loudly.

"Ok, 5th place... The Party Crashers," the announcer said.

"That figures," a lot of people said quietly.

"4th place... 54x," the announcer said.

Some of the Voyager crewmembers cheered, and then they received some odd looks from some others.

"3rd place... Pulse," the announcer said.

A lot of people cheered loudly.

"2nd place... LG!" the announcer yelled.

A lot of people cheered again.

"And yes, you've guessed it. The winner is... Virus!" the announcer yelled.

Nearly every Voyager crewmember cheered, and of course a lot of Ligers cheered too.

Virus came onto the stage, they couldn't stop smiling as everyone cheered at them. Lena was the happiest of the lot.

"I beat ya Kiara, neer neer," she said towards offstage. Kiara just sulked.

"Lena, do I have to remind you of your age again?" Craig asked.

"Nah," Lena said.

"Ok, the winners will perform a different song. Take it away guys!" the announcer yelled. He ran off the stage. Lena quickly ran off stage, and she came back in with a CD Player. She switched it on, and she put the track called Didn't I Instrumental on.

The song Didn't I started. The band stood in formation as they sang the beginning of the song. Then they started with a dance routine. Everytime somebody sang 'didn't I' they all raised their right arms, and they raised one finger into the air.

Kiara and Bryan watched the performance off stage. Like before, Bryan was just dancing slightly to the music. Kiara smacked him in the back of the head.

"Stop it, they're our rivals!" Kiara yelled.

"So, rivals don't usually have to hate each other's music," Bryan moaned.

"Just don't dance to their music in front of me," Kiara said.

"Ok, ok," Bryan muttered.

**The next night**  
**RTV Studio's:**  
The studio is filled with hundreds of screaming people. A female announcer is standing one of the stages.

"Hello, and welcome to RTV. Tonight this year's Rockstars winners will be performing, plus we'll be able to see a newcomer bands' video called Doctor Jones, and we'll repeat last Friday's top ten! But right now, it's newcomers... Virus!" the announcer said.

Virus were standing in a small circle on the neighbouring stage. My oh My started with the usual sound of a horse running.

On the screen in the background there was the video for My oh My.

"My oh my do you wanna say goodbye. To have their kingdom baby, tell me why. My oh my do you wanna say goodbye. To rule a country baby, you and I. If you are my king," Lena sang, while still in the circle.

The four went into a straight line, with their backs still to the audience. Suddenly they turned around as the main music started. They started doing a new dance routine to the chorus.

Lena and James sang the first verse as they wandered around the stage. They joined the others just in time for the chorus. Suddenly the music started changing into Barbie Girl. The girls went nearer to the back of the stage and they picked something up. The Voyager crewmembers laughed when they saw the girls come back to the main part of the stage. They had long blonde wigs on.

Jessie sang the first part of the Barbie Girl verse. "I can act like a star, I can beg on my knees," she sang as she knelt down near the front of the stage. James came up behind her and he started singing his part. While he did that Jessie took the wig off her head and she threw it into the audience. She stood back up while James still was quite close behind her.

Lena came over and she sang her part. Craig came upto her as her verse finished

The girls started to sing to the chorus. When the line ' you can brush my hair' was sung for the last time, Lena threw off her wig to reveal her bright glittery red hair. As soon as the song finished everyone cheered loudly.

The announcer was still on the other stage as the camera came back to her. "And that remix is available on their debut single, My oh My/Barbie Girl. And now, we have a video of the same bands' second single Doctor Jones/An Apple A Day!" the announcer yelled.

**Fifty minutes later:**  
The announcer is now seen in front of a crowd of people. "Well we're nearing the end of one hell of a show. Tomorrow we'll be revealing the new top twenty. Also we're getting another performance from Virus, and we've also got a mini concert brought to us by the one and only Jailbreaker! Anyway, with their latest single... it's Virus!" the announcer said.

Not far behind her was the main stage. Virus started performing Roses Are Red.

Meanwhile some people on Voyager were watching the show.

"Hey Harry, did you see the Doctor Jones vid?" Tom asked.

"Yeah, I liked it," Harry replied.

"You know I'm starting to think that I was right," Tom said.

"About what?" Harry asked.

"Well in the My oh My video, James and Jessie nearly kissed. What happened in Doctor Jones?" Tom said.

"Oh, right about you're theory of them being a couple," Harry said.

"Yep," Tom said.

"I don't think so Tom, it's only a music video. If they were a couple they'd be more careful about stuff like that, either that or they'd actually show the kiss. There's no point in showing it if they haven't done it, if you know what I mean," Harry said.

"Once again Harry, you've got me. But have you ever thought that they did it on purpose to get people to think what you think," Tom asked.

"I suppose, it could be either way," Harry replied.

"Well I still stand by my theory," Tom said.

"Well I don't think it's our business wether they are going out or not," Harry said.

"Yeah, you'd be right about that if they were normal crewmembers. But they're popstars now, their business is our business," Tom said.

"Oh great, I should of seen that one coming," Harry muttered.

**The following night:**  
Virus were in the Mess Hall. A couple of interview people walked away from them talking about some old rubbish.

"Wow, we've only been on two shows and we're popular," Jessie said.

"Well Lil said that music is the thing with the Ligers. They can't live without their music, I suppose popstars are just as important to them as something like alcohol is to us," Lena said.

"Don't you think we should put RTV on, they're showing the top twenty list soon, there's a small chance one of our singles are in that," James said.

"Don't worry about that, Neelix is busy fixing that TV in the corner of the room. It looks like he's nearly finished," Lena said.

"What happened to it?" Craig asked.

"Somebody heard one of those really dodgy bands on it, and they threw a bottle at it," Lena replied.

"Oh, I can understand that," Craig said.

"I hope it wasn't us they thought was terrible," Jessie said.

"I said dodgy bands, not nutty bands," Lena said.

"Yey, I fixed it," Neelix said.

"Gee, that's convenient. It's time for the Top twenty," James said as he looked at his watch that he all of a sudden had.

Neelix switched the TV on, and the Top Twenty just started.

**Two** **minutes later:**  
"Number 14: Virus with My oh My/Barbie Girl," the TV person said.

Virus jumped up from their seats and they started screaming. They started hugging each other.

"Wow, that's quite good for a single that's four weeks old," Lilly muttered. Lena ran over to her, she threw her arms around Lilly and she started hugging her.

"Number 13: Jailbreaker with Rock N Rock."

"Rock N Rock?" Tani said questioningly.

"That's a cover, it's an awful song. Jailbreaker aren't going to do very well with that new song," Lilly muttered.

"Number 12: Virus with Doctor Jones/An Apple A Day."

More screaming and hugging took place.

**Five** **minutes later:**  
"Ohno, where's Roses Are Red? That's our most recent single," Lena said.

"It might of flunked straight to the top thirty's, unless it's in the top five," Lilly said.

"No chance of that. It's a pop song, it wont be that popular," Jessie said.

"Number 4: Virus with Roses Are Red."

"Oh my god!" Lena yelled at the top of her voice. She went to hug the nearest to her which was Neelix.

"Wow, that's a new record," Lilly said.

"What do you mean?" Craig asked.

"Well this is your first Top Twenty, you've got three singles in it. Plus the highest one was Number Four, the best anyone got the first time was Number Six," Lilly replied. Lena ran over to her and she started hugging her again.

Kiara sat sulking at her table, Bryan was too busy scoffing food to notice.

"We have to release a single," Kiara said. Bryan said something but he had his mouth full so Kiara didn't understand it. "We have to beat Virus at their own game," Kiara said.

Bryan swallowed the food in his mouth. "But that means we'll have to get a single to Number Three first time, that's going to be impossible to do."

"Well it will be if we don't even try to release a single," Kiara said.

"Yeah well, being a popstar isn't all about the Top Five's or whatever. Isn't it all about the music," Bryan said.

Kiara looked at him strangely. "No, music used to be like that in the 1960's or something. For centuries it's only been about popularity."

"What about money?" Bryan asked.

"Well yeah until money became extinct on Earth," Kiara replied.

"Well you knew what I meant. I know you're only in this to beat your mother, but I'm in this to have some fun and that's it," Bryan said.

"Yeah right, you can have fun singing to yourself and doing a concert in your own bedroom. If you don't get serious about this I'm going solo," Kiara said.

"Ok, fine. I'll try. But can I say, rivaling with your mother isn't exactly what I call serious," Bryan said.

"I'm not just doing this to beat my mum, idiot," Kiara muttered.

"Whatever you say, K. See you later," Bryan said as he stood up. He walked out of the room.

**T****wo days later**  
**Lena's Quarters:**  
James and Jessie were sitting on the sofa, Lena was pacing the room impatiently.

"What's this all about?" Jessie asked.

"We have to wait for Craig," Lena said.

"Well he'd better hurry up," James said.

The door chimed and Lena rushed to answer it. It was Craig. Lena dragged him into the room.

"Right guys, I've got great news," Lena said excitedly.

"We've been waiting for ten minutes already, lets hear it," Jessie said.

"Well, we've been invited to this big charity event thing. Only the most popular bands are asked to come to one of these things," Lena said.

"Cool, what do we have to do?" Jessie asked.

"What do you mean?" Lena said.

"Do we have to perform, answer questions, go into an interview or photo shoot," Jessie asked.

"Oh right, as far as I know the Liger press goes to these things. I have a feeling that we're going to have a lot of questions thrown at us," Lena replied.

"So, when is it?" Craig asked.

"Tonight," Lena replied. The others collapsed anime style.

"Nice warning," Jessie muttered.

"Well I must admit that it is a last minute thing," Lena said.

"What time do we have to be there then?" James asked.

"About 2000 hours," Lena replied.

"What kind of charity event is this anyway?" Jessie asked.

"I don't know, but we'd better be prepared. Sometimes bands have to perform at these things," Lena replied.

"Well this is a perfect time to play our new single, right?" Craig said questioningly.

"Yeah, exactly," Lena said.

"Well, we'd better get rehearsing then," Jessie said.

**Later that night**  
**The Charity Event:**  
There were about ten different bands inside already. There were about fifty other guests. A classical type band where playing on a corner stage.

"Well that's the playing band. I doubt we'd look as graceful as they do," Lena said, and she laughed slightly.

"I don't think I'd want to, if you know what I mean," Craig said.

"Ohno, what are they doing here?" Lena asked. Craig turned around to see who she was talking about. Whoever it was came straight over to Virus.

"So Lena, where did you get your invitation from, a Christmas Cracker?" Kiara asked.

"Damn you! That's what I was going to say!" Lena said angrily.

"Well I said it first," Kiara said.

"Erm, girls this is a charity event. You shouldn't get into a fight," Craig said.

"Ok, I respect that," Lena said.

"You would, wouldn't you," Kiara muttered.

"Hey K, there's something cool over there," Bryan said, and he dragged Kiara with her. Bryan immediately started eating the food available.

"This isn't cool," Kiara muttered.

"So, how did Pulse get into this place? I thought only popular bands got into this place," Lena asked.

"Lena, Pulse is popular. The people here seem to like the Aqua ballads," Craig said.

"What, these rockaholics?" Lena said in disbelief.

"Uhoh, here comes the cavalry," James muttered. The rest of the band looked the way he was looking. Sure enough about six press people were heading over.

"Ok guys, do you have any awful secrets?" Lena asked.

"A few," Jessie replied.

"Same here," James said.

"I'm clean," Craig said.

"Ok, Craig and me do all the talking," Lena said.

"What are we suppose to do?" James asked.

"Just stand around and erm, look pretty or whatever," Lena replied.

"Pretty?" James said questioningly.

"That's a hard job for him, Lena," Craig whispered. Lena just shrugged.

**Five**** minutes later:**  
The press people were still talking to Virus.

"Those two are being really quiet," reporter 1 said.

"Well we're more talkative than they are," Lena said.

"Well I have a question for the two of them," reporter 2 said.

"Well, ok," Lena muttered.

"We've heard everywhere that you two are a couple, is it true?" reporter 2 asked.

Jessie and James went bright red at the same time, they looked at each other nervously.

"No, they're not," Lena said.

"Erm, I was asking them," reporter 2 said.

"Doesn't matter, it's the same answer," Jessie said.

"But what about those videos," reporter 2 said.

"Well erm," Jessie muttered, she looked at James.

"Er..." he said quietly.

"They were going out when the My oh My video was filmed. Doctor Jones was made to look like they were going to, but they didn't," Lena said.

"Erm, Lena, that second bit was a lie," James said quietly.

"Ok, Doctor Jones and a My oh My were just the near thing," Lena said.

"I've got a question for the whole band. What is your opinion of the other bands, you do have different styles to them," reporter 3 said.

"Yeah, they're good. I hate to say it but their style of music isn't one of my favourites," Lena said.

"I like the Jailbreaker," Craig added.

"They're probably the best out of the lot," Lena said.

"I heard that their songs are just covers," Jessie said.

"What like ours are," Lena said.

"Yeah, and they've only had two singles released," Jessie said.

"That's nice," Lena muttered quietly.

"I'm just saying," Jessie said.

"Don't, they've been around for three months, it doesn't matter that they've only got two singles," Lena said.

"I go for quality, not quantity myself. Quite a lot of people do," Craig said.

"That's what people say when they want to defend bands like Aqua. They had good songs, but not very much of them," Jessie said.

"Yeah, a lot of people don't like Jailbreaker's new single," James said.

"I'd say what's your point but I shouldn't ask," Lena muttered.

"It seems that the two aren't quite as untalkative as you think," reporter 4 said.

"Sorry, we shouldn't of said anything," James said.

"So you should be," Lena muttered, and she looked at Jessie.

"Maybe if you weren't sucking up to the press you would be agreeing with me," Jessie said.

"I'm sucking up to the press? Since when?" Lena asked.

"Why do you think you haven't let me and James speak," Jessie replied.

"So that's what all this is about," Lena said angrily.

"Oh, there's Pulse, lets go and interview them," reporter 3 said. The press people ran off.

"Why weren't we?" Jessie asked.

"You said you had a lot of awful secrets, I was trying to make sure that none of them came out. The entire planet nearly found out about your relationship," Lena replied.

"Ok, that's what you want to believe. Anyway the rest of our secrets have nothing to do with..." Jessie said.

"Yeah, but the press are tricky. You could accidentally reveal what you did when you were five if you're not careful with them," Lena said.

"If I'm not careful with them. You didn't even give us a chance to talk to them," Jessie said angrily.

"I was just trying to save yourself from some embarrassment," Lena said.

"Look Lena, we're better at keeping secrets than you are. We didn't need you to do all the talking," Jessie said.

"She's got a point there," James said.

"Speaking of sucking up," Lena muttered.

"For the second time this season I'm going to say that James doesn't suck up to me," Jessie said.

"Second time?" James said questioningly.

"I'm pretty sure he does. He sticks up for you all the time. If you murdered somebody in bloodlust he'd probably still keep sticking up for you," Lena said.

"So what, he's my friend. He's allowed to stick up for me if he wants. But what you're saying is that he doesn't have his own opinion," Jessie said.

"This is getting ridiculous," Craig muttered.

"This is getting embarrassing," James said.

"Oh he does, it's just clouded by the fact that he fancies a selfish little cow," Lena said.

"Selfish cow! Speak for yourself!" Jessie screamed.

At this point most of the room were staring at the two girls.

"What do you mean?" Lena asked.

"Well you just take part in this band to beat your own daughter," Jessie replied.

"I was in this band long before I even knew about Kiara. That doesn't make any sense," Lena said.

"It does. We didn't need a stupid competition to get big on this planet. You just took part to show your kid up," Jessie said.

"That is a load of bullst!" Lena growled.

"Really? Why did we take part in the competition then?" Jessie asked.

"I don't know," Lena replied.

"Yes you do," Jessie said.

"Would you two stop arguing, you're attracting everyone's attention," James said.

"So?" Lena said questioningly.

"I'll stop arguing if she will," Jessie said.

"No. I don't see why you have to have such horrible opinions about other bands," Lena said.

"I don't, I didn't even say anything about the other bands," Jessie said.

"What about Jailbreaker then?" Lena asked.

"I just meant that the song they chose for a cover was a bad one, that's all," Jessie replied.

"No, you meant something else," Lena said.

"Well they do have less singles than we do," Jessie said.

"And..." Lena said.

"And what? Like Craig said, it doesn't matter how many singles they have," Jessie said.

"That wasn't your opinion earlier," Lena said.

"This is ridiculous, I don't see why I have to put up with this anymore. I'm leaving," Jessie said.

"Well I'm sorry you feel that way," Lena said. Jessie stormed off, James followed her.

"Good going Lena, I think you and Jess have just given Virus a bad reputation," Craig said.

"I don't suck up to the press do I?" Lena asked.

"Maybe just a little," Craig replied.

"I don't, this is stupid," Lena muttered.

Kiara and Bryan walked over to them. Bryan continued to stuff his face.

"What was all that about?" Kiara asked.

"I don't know to be honest. One thing lead to another," Lena replied.

"Well I think Jess should be careful if you ask me," Kiara said.

"What do you mean?" Craig asked.

"Well she did say stuff about Jailbreaker. Even though they've only had one really good single in a few months, they're still really popular. They're like what Hear'say used to be like," Kiara said.

"Hear'say?" Lena said questioningly.

"Yeah, they were really popular after just one song. I suppose on Earth other bands could get away with saying bad stuff about them, but here? Dissing Jailbreaker is just like dissing somebodies family member to a fan," Kiara said.

"Well, I hate to say it but Jessie deserves all she gets after that. She was in a sure bchy mood," Lena said.

"Some compassion. The least she could get is some bad press questions, the worse she can get is to be attacked by Jailbreaker fans," Kiara said.

"You mean fans would attack another band if they said something wrong?" Lena asked.

"Well, yeah. Remember music is just as important to them as food is to us," Kiara replied.

"Well Jessie knows that, besides she can take care of herself," Lena said.

"Yeah, but what happens if there's about ten fans or more that attack her or something," Craig said.

"Well she's got a Slayer with her, I'm sure she'd be okay," Lena said.

"You'd better be right," Craig muttered.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	2. Chapter 2

**Meanwhile:**  
"I don't see why you two were arguing. It was all about nothing," James said.

He and Jessie were walking down a quiet street, not far away from the charity event. Jessie was literally fuming.

"It always starts off as nothing, you have to be careful about what you say to people like her. If you don't back out, you'd be arguing for hours," Jessie said.

"Yeah well, where are we going?" James asked.

They both turned a corner and they found themselves at a dead end.

"At the moment, nowhere," Jessie replied.

"This place is crazy, why is there a dead end?" James asked.

"I don't know, but Lena's not the only thing that's driving me crazy at the moment," Jessie replied.

They both heard something that sounded like several footsteps.

"This is good, we could ask for directions," Jessie said.

"Either that, or they will ask for a little punch up," James said.

"Why would they... oh," Jessie muttered.

They then both saw a big group of people coming around the corner.

"Why would there be a big group like this hanging around in a place like this?" Jessie asked.

"Well they're obviously not here for autographs and a picture," James replied.

"Erm, do you have your commbadge on you? I had no where to put mine," Jessie asked.

James searched his pockets but he couldn't find it.

"We did pass some odd looking people. I think one of them pinched it," James replied.

"Damn pickpockets," Jessie muttered.

The group got a little closer to the pair, and the screen faded out.

**Voyager, the next day**  
**The Ready Room:**  
Kathryn was sitting behind her desk having her usual fifth morning coffee. The door chimed.

"Come in," she said happily.

Tuvok and Chakotay walked in. "Captain, do you want to hear the good news or the bad news first?" Chakotay asked.

"Good," Kathryn replied.

"Well erm, Pulse released Turn Back Time as a single," Chakotay said.

"That's brilliant, I'll have to get myself a copy. What's the bad news?" Kathryn asked.

Chakotay looked at Tuvok.

"Crewman Rex and Ensign Stuart were found this morning," Tuvok said.

"That's good, I was really getting worried about them," Kathryn said.

"You were?" Chakotay said questioningly.

"Frankly Captain, it is not good. Doctor Jones is still trying to get permission off the officials for a transfer," Tuvok said.

"Transfer, what do you mean?" Kathryn asked.

"Well lets just say they're in a Liger hospital getting treated for severe injuries," Chakotay said.

"How the hell did they get severe injuries?" Kathryn asked.

"Well Crewman Rex did have a bit of an argument with Lena about the band Jailbreaker," Tuvok said.

"Supposably Jessie said a little too much. The police think that they could of been attacked by Jailbreaker fans," Chakotay said.

"That figures. Can't we have one shore leave where those two don't cause trouble?" Kathryn asked.

"Obviously not," Chakotay replied.

"According to Miss Johnstone, Liger's medical technology has had it's set backs over the years. Lets just say with the pair's injuries they'd be better off in our Sickbay," Tuvok said.

"Why wont the officials allow them to be transferred?" Kathryn asked.

"Well it's citizens were responsible for their injuries. The authorities want to fix the problem," Chakotay replied.

"From what I've heard it wont fix the problem. Those fans will still hate them," Kathryn said.

"That's for them to sort out, not us," Chakotay said.

"Does Duncan know about this?" Kathryn asked.

"No, Lena's looking after him, and she doesn't know about the attack either," Chakotay replied.

"You should tell them, I should go and see the officials on the planet," Kathryn said.

"Captain, I should go with you," Tuvok said.

"Why?" Kathryn asked.

Tuvok raised his eyebrow. "I could be of assistance."

"It's ok, Tuvok. I can do this alone," Kathryn said.

**The planet, a hospital:**  
Kathryn was talking to one of the high ranking medical people.

"The last thing we want to do is to have you fix a problem our civilians caused," the medical guy said.

"Our Doctor thinks that they'd be better in a more familiar place, Doctor Iko," Kathryn said.

"Nonsense, they'll be up and about in a few hours," Doctor Iko said.

"What were their injuries anyway?" Kathryn asked.

"Well Jessie was brought in with a severe concussion, fractured ribs, deep cuts on her arms and face. James didn't have it as easy as she did.." Doctor Iko said.

"I'd hardly call her injuries easy," Kathryn muttered.

"Well he came in with the same injuries as her, except he had more of them. Lets just say that we managed to treat most of Jessie's injuries straight away, it's just her fractured ribs will be sore for a few weeks. I'm afraid with James he will be released with a few more lasting injuries than Jessie," Doctor Iko said.

"Like what?" Kathryn asked.

"I don't know how he did it, but he broke his upper leg really badly. We've treated most of the damage, but he's going to have to go easy on it for a while. And his concussion wasn't as easy to treat, he'll probably have to put up with headaches for a long time," Doctor Iko replied.

"How long a time?" Kathryn asked.

"If a Liger was brought in with the same concussion, it would be a few months. But Humans have weaker skulls than Ligers do," Doctor Iko replied.

"He is a natural born Slayer. According to my daughter those kind of Slayers are not as easy to injure, how come he got worse injuries than Jessie did?" Kathryn asked.

"Well that Slayer thing will explain why he isn't dead at the moment," Doctor Iko said.

"What do you mean?" Kathryn asked.

"Like I said it was a severe concussion. The kind that could severely damage the brain, and possible kill the patient. If he wasn't one of those Slayers then he would be dead," Doctor Iko replied.

"It seems like those fans tried to injure James more than they wanted to injure Jessie. Apparently she was the one saying all those things about Jailbreaker," Kathryn muttered.

"I heard from the press that Jessie did say something about Jailbreaker not having as much singles as Virus. But James supposably said something about the quality of Jailbreaker's songs," Doctor Iko said.

"Well, the press hardly ever tell the truth. Can I see the patients?" Kathryn asked.

"Yes, of course," Doctor Iko replied. A nurse ran upto him.

"Doctor Iko, Jessie is waking up," the nurse said and she ran back into the nearby ward.

"Good timing," Kathryn muttered. She followed Doctor Iko into the ward.

They both walked over to one of the two beds in the small ward.

"Hello there, how are you feeling?" Doctor Iko asked Jessie as she woke up. She jumped slightly.

"What.. why am I here?" Jessie asked.

"It's okay Jessie, you're just in a Liger hospital," Kathryn said softly.

Jessie looked around. "Where is James, is he ok?" she asked.

"He's on the neighbouring bed. He's fine," Doctor Iko replied.

"What happened?" Kathryn asked.

"I think they were Jailbreaker fans. One second me and James were lost, and the second we were being attacked," Jessie replied.

"Did you see any of them?" Kathryn asked.

"Yeah, a lot of them just ran over to us both. One knocked James out first, and they beat him up when he was unconscious. Then they went for me," Jessie replied.

"How did they knock him out first, he's a Slayer after all," Kathryn asked.

"They wanted him down first. They just held me back and made me watch what they did to him, and they then knocked me out," Jessie replied.

"That explains it then," Doctor Iko said.

"What?" Jessie said questioningly.

"We were wondering why they injured James more than you. Maybe they just wanted to torture you in more ways than one," Kathryn said.

"The brds, for that I hate them even more," Jessie said angrily.

"Well thanks to the Doctors here you can leave here soon," Kathryn said.

"So, me and him are going to be ok then," Jessie said.

"Well, your ribs will take some healing. It'll hurt for a while. The same with James," Doctor Iko said.

"There's something else isn't there?" Jessie asked.

"Well, we don't know how but James really broke his upper leg badly. He's going to have to take it easy for a while, that means you're going to have to look after him for a while," Kathryn replied.

"They must of done something to him after I was knocked unconscious. I didn't see them doing anything that could of broken his leg," Jessie said.

"Doctor, he's waking up," the nurse said. Jessie tried to sit up but the pain in her ribs forced her to lie back down.

Kathryn and Doctor Iko went upto the other bed. Doctor Iko smiled slightly as he said, "how are you feeling then?"

James did the same thing that Jessie did, he jumped, but it was when he saw Kathryn not Doctor Iko.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"You're in a Liger hospital," Doctor Iko replied.

"Before you ask, Jessie's here and she's fine," Kathryn said.

"Oh, that's good," James said.

"Well you don't have to worry. You two will be up and about in no time. Unfortunately you'll have to take it easy on that left leg of yours," Doctor Iko said.

"How can I take it easy when I'm in a band?" James asked.

"Well you guys will have to do an easier act until you get better," Doctor Iko replied.

"I doubt Virus is going to be same again after this," Kathryn muttered.

**Voyager, a couple of hours later:**  
"Lena, they've just been through something. They need time to recover," Craig said.

"It's Christmas Eve tomorrow, we need to release that damn single," Lena said.

"You could at least tone down the dance moves. Halloween isn't easy to dance to with a bad leg," James said.

"Ok, we'll spend a couple more days thinking up a new dance routine and by then your damn leg would be better then," Lena said.

"Lena, why are you being so heartless?" James asked.

"Stop it with the sympathy act!" Lena yelled. Craig put both hands on her shoulders to calm her down.

"Lena, you're the one that should take it easy. You've been really grouchy lately," Craig said. Lena pushed his hands off.

"I'm just having a bad week, OK!" Lena yelled.

"No need to take it out on us," Jessie said.

"Ok, I'll try to keep my cool. It's just how are we going to tone down Halloween's dance routine? We'll have to think of something," Lena said.

"Can't we do the Halloween release thing tomorrow, they've just got out of hospital," Craig asked.

"The sooner we get back to normal, the better," Lena replied.

"I agree with her there, but..." James said.

"But what!" Lena yelled.

"Never mind," James said.

"People know about what happened, they wont be expecting us back so soon," Jessie said.

"Yeah, well, so what?" Lena said.

Jessie rolled her eyes. "Forget it," she said.

**RTV, one** **hour later:**  
The announcer was standing on that same stage. "Welcome back to RTV. The newly popular band Virus, have made a quick comeback after last night's incident at the charity event. They're here to perform their new single, yes you heard it. Another new single. Ok, enough talk, hear for yourselves!"

The camera moved to the neighbouring stage. There were only a few dim lights shining on the stage. Suddenly the sound of thunder went around the entire room as Halloween started.

Lena sang the first verse, she danced slightly as she went around the front of the stage. Craig came over to her and they both did a little act with the phone conversation bit. Near the end of it they went over to the others and they stood in a formation.

The chorus came on and they did the arm part of the dance routine. Lena continued to do the full version, where they usually move around a lot, instead of just being on the same spot. The girls stepped backwards as Craig and James sang their bit.

Jessie went back forward and she sang her verse. She stayed in the same spot, and she danced just using her arms. She and James did a little act out for the phone conversation bit. All four went into the formation for the chorus. This time Lena remembered to do the dance routine the same way as the others.

The girls stepped back to let the guys do their bit. The girls pretended to freeze on the spot as the guys spoke their lines. Craig forget to stay on the spot, and he wandered around as he said his lines. James had to do the same. He nearly lost his balance because of his leg, and he knocked Lena a bit as the chorus restarted.

The band did the dance routine for the chorus, but Lena went back to the more energetic one. The girls stepped backwards again for the lads bit. As Lena sang 'Halloween' at the end of the song, Jessie yelled out 'lets hear you scream!" As the song finished with the recorded version of Lena screaming, nearly everyone screamed to join in.

Lena looked around as if she was waiting for something, and then she pushed James lightly.

"What were you trying to do, spoil it?" she asked angrily.

"What are you talking about?" James said.

"You knocked me before the third chorus!" Lena yelled.

"Give him a break. I did the wrong act. He had to do the same act and it hurt his leg. It was my fault," Craig said.

"Why did he knock me then?" Lena asked angrily.

"Well it was either that or me fall over and embarrass the entire band," James said.

"It looks like you've done so anyway," Jessie muttered. Lena looked and she saw that the camera's were still on.

"Just get on with the (beep)in show, this has nothing to do with you!" she yelled at the camera man.

"Lena I think you should calm down. It was an accident," Craig said.

"Besides it was an accident waiting to happen," James said.

"What do you mean?" Lena asked.

"You were doing the original dance routine for the chorus, and the first verse," James replied.

"Yeah, we decided to do just the arm routine and stay on the same spot most of the time so James didn't have to move as much," Jessie said.

"Oh well, I'm sorry. So this is all my fault then?" Lena asked.

"Maybe if you stopped acting like a selfish bch this wouldn't of happened," James said.

Jessie and Craig looked shocked, so did Lena. "What did you just call me?" Lena asked.

"You heard me. I don't know what's wrong with you, but you've been acting like a heartless, selfish little bch for about a week now," James replied.

"I didn't think you'd have the guts to tell me that," Lena muttered.

"I've been through worse," James said.

"Oh really? Well let me tell you something. If you had my life you would understand," Lena said.

"Lena, don't get all emotional on us," Jessie said.

"Stay out of this!" Lena yelled back.

"We've all had a bad time in our life, it doesn't mean that you should take it out on us," Jessie said.

"A bad time? A bad time? That's an understatement," Lena muttered.

"Come on, I think the audience have heard enough," Jessie said and she walked over to James. They both left the stage. Craig looked briefly at Lena before leaving her on her own.

**The next day**  
**The Bridge:**  
"Yey, it's nearly Christmas," Triah said.

"Ooh, yey," Tani muttered sarcastically.

"What's up with your miserable face?" Triah asked.

"Everything," Tani replied.

"You'll have to be more specific," Triah muttered.

"Well I have no friends and family to share Christmas with, and I'm afraid to use my computer," Tani said.

"The computer's not going to eat you," Triah muttered.

"I wish it would," Tani said.

James came onto the Bridge and he went over to Tuvok. "Erm, did anybody go down to the planet during the night?" he asked.

Tuvok worked at his console. "Only a few unknown crewmembers, why do you ask?"

"Jessie's missing. I thought she might be on the planet," James replied.

"Well if she is then I'll be able to detect her. Give me a moment," Tuvok said. He worked at his console, and he shook his head. "Her lifesigns are not on the planet, on Voyager, or the Dellia Fleet," Tuvok said. He tapped his commbadge. "Tuvok to Janeway."

In: "Yes?"

"Captain, Crewman Rex has disappeared. I cannot detect her lifesigns," Tuvok said.

In: "What could that mean?"

"It could mean she's either dead, or somewhere that blocks out lifesigns," Tuvok replied.

In: "I was hoping you wouldn't say the first part."

"Indeed Captain, I'm going to send a search party. Ensign..." Tuvok said and he turned to see that James had gone.

"He went into the turbolift," Triah said.

"I'd better stop him, in his condition he can't go on a search mission," Tuvok said. He walked off the Bridge too.

**The next day (Christmas Day)**

_**Captains Log Supplemental: Crewman Rex has disappeared without a trace. Tuvok has ruled out the possibility of any radiation that can block out lifesigns. I'm afraid we're at a loss.**_

**James/Jessie's Quarters:**  
Lena and Craig walked in. Lena put her fingers up at the door.

"Damn Security Guards, security my as," she muttered angrily. Duncan walked over to the two.

"As," he said. Craig looked at Lena.

"You really shouldn't swear in front of him," Craig said.

"I bet he's heard worse," Lena muttered. She knelt down in front of Duncan. "Where's your dad?" she asked.

"He's in there," Duncan said and he pointed towards one of the bedroom doors. "He told me to leave him alone," he said.

"Did he tell you why he's upset?" Craig asked. Duncan shook his head.

"Geez, I hope that it's not going to be us that tell him," Lena said.

"Where's that fat old ft called Santa?" Duncan asked.

"Well erm, he isn't really real. It's usually your parents that give you presents," Lena said.

"Lena! This is his first Christmas," Craig said.

"And it's not a good one is it. Besides he doesn't like Santa," Lena said.

"Where's mum?" Duncan asked.

"I wish I knew," Lena whispered. Craig nodded his head.

"What?" Duncan said loudly.

The three heard the bedroom door open. They looked over. James slowly stepped out of the room, and he headed straight for the main door. The Security guards stopped him, so he had to go back in.

"Where were you going?" Craig asked.

"Oh come on, people don't just disappear like that," James replied.

"Where's mum, I want presents!" Duncan yelled, and he started crying.

"Why didn't you tell him?" Lena asked.

"I don't believe it myself," James replied.

"Well when did you see her last?" Craig asked.

"Last night, before I fell asleep. I woke up and she was gone," James replied.

"Strange," Craig muttered.

"Well supposably there's some big search going on. They'll find her," Lena said.

"Yeah, but Tuvok didn't detect any lifesigns. If they do find her she wont be alive," James said.

"What?" Duncan asked angrily.

"Craig, take him into the other room," Lena said.

"Always bossing me around, come on Duncan," Craig said. He managed to pick Duncan up, and they both left the room.

"Look if you think like that then you're never going to feel ok again," Lena said.

"I've tried thinking that she's ok, it hasn't worked," James said.

"She is ok, I know it," Lena said.

"Why do you think that?" James asked.

"Never mind. If I say, the very small dramatic effect will go away," Lena replied.

"If she is dead, how the hell did it happen!" James said angrily.

"Well I have a theory," Lena said.

"What," James muttered.

"I think she just went for a breath of fresh air on the planet, and those damn Jailbreaker fans got her. Anyway if that is the case Doctor Jones will be able to revive her no probs," Lena said.

"Do you think so?" James asked.

"Yeah, and I'm er, sorry for being so horrible lately," Lena replied.

"What has been up with you anyway?" James asked.

"I don't know. I've just had a shorter fuse than usual. Anyway I'm sorry again, and I feel bad since there's a chance that I wont be able to apologise to Jess," Lena replied.

"I hope you're wrong about that, especially for Duncan's sake," James said.

Lena shook her head. "Christmas, that's a hell of a time to attack someone. If my theory is right, I hope the people responsible rot in hell."

Craig came back into the room. "I gave Duncan something to do," he said.

"You didn't tell him?" Lena asked.

"Lena, there's nothing to tell yet," Craig replied.

"Yeah I suppose," Lena muttered.

"Anyway, I know it sounds awful but I have an idea for our next single. I remember listening to a song called Stop Me From Loving U. It's a fast ballad, and it really is nice. We could have a dedication song," Craig said.

"Yeah, but what happens if Jessie is found and revived?" Lena asked.

"Well, er, it still makes a nice song. And besides Jessie will know about it that way," Craig replied.

"Yeah, that's a really nice idea," Lena said.

In: "Tuvok to Stuart."

"Oh great, here it comes," Lena muttered.

James tapped his commbadge. "Yeah?" he said.

In: "Somebody reported seeing Crewman Rex. We've found her, and beamed her to Sickbay."

"All right, I'm on my way," James said. He tapped his commbadge.

"We'll come with," Lena said.

Duncan came out his room. "Me too," he said.

"Were you listening in?" Craig asked.

"Yeah," Duncan replied.

"Lets get this over with then," Lena said.

**Sickbay:**  
Lena, Craig, & James came in through the main door. James was carrying Duncan, by the way. Doctor Jones was standing over the main biobed, waiting for them. He noticed them come in and we went straight over to them.

"The bad news is that she has severe injuries, and they're going to take some treating," Doctor Jones said.

"Good news please," James said.

"Well, there's a chance that I can revive her," Doctor Jones said.

"There's only a chance," James said.

"Bad Doctor!" Duncan yelled, he reached over and tried to hit him. Doctor Jones just shook his head slightly.

"Hey, guys. It's better than nothing," Lena said.

"It's ok, Lena. I was expecting a bad reaction like this," Doctor Jones muttered. He groaned. Duncan was still trying to hit him, but obviously it wasn't hurting him. "Duncan, hitting me isn't going to make things better," he said. Duncan didn't listen, he continued to hit him.

"Duncan, Jones can't treat your mother if you keep hitting him," Craig said. Duncan finally stopped, and he gave Doctor Jones one hell of a glare.

"I've got a lot of work to do, so it would be best if you all didn't just wait around here," Doctor Jones said.

"Yeah, we've got some work to do as well. Don't we?" Lena said questioningly.

"We do?" James asked.

"Yeah, we've got a dedication CD to advertise," Lena replied.

"Can I sing?" Duncan asked.

"You can leave him with me if you want. I could put him with the other kids next door," Doctor Jones said.

"Thanks Doc," Craig said, Duncan glared at him. "Geez, where did that kid get that glare from," Craig muttered. James handed Duncan to Doctor Jones.

"Doesn't matter, lets go," Lena said. The three band members walked out of the room.

**A couple of hours later, RTV Studios:**  
The announcer woman was standing in front of a big crowd of people. "We have a change of schedule today, a band has just came into the studios to perform a song from their upcoming single. I doubt there will be a dry eye in the whole studio after this song, give it up for Virus!"

The camera moved to view Lena, Craig and James on the nearby stage. They were all standing behind microphones on stands. The song 'Too Weak To Resist' came on. James sang all the lead vocals, and the other two sang the backing vocals. As the second verse started a lot of the crowd had at least one tear in their eyes. They weren't the only ones, the band themselves had the same problem.

**Meanwhile, in the Mess Hall:**  
Quite a lot of the crew were watching the performance on the TV in the corner. Neelix was bringing some hanky boxes over to a few unknown crewmembers. He passed Tani, and she snatched the whole box.

"This is a horrible Christmas!" she suddenly yelled, and she ran out of the room.

"Hey, we need that box of hankies," Neelix said.

"Think of it as your Christmas present to her," Tom joked. Somebody threw a used hanky at him. "Eew, I hope you didn't use that to blow your nose," Tom said angrily.

Harry grinned meekly at him. "No, I didn't," he said.

**Sickbay:**  
Tani walked in with an angry look on her face. Ashley followed soon after.

"I thought we settled this," he said.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm just not having a very good Christmas that's all," Tani said.

"Why?" Ashley asked.

"I don't have any friends, and it just doesn't feel like Christmas. And I thought it might have something to do with this," Tani said, and she pointed at the biobed Jessie was on.

"I thought you didn't like her," Ashley muttered.

"I just didn't like her because she had it a lot better than I did," Tani said.

"What do you mean by that?" Ashley asked.

"I'm saying that she got lucky, she got herself a decent friend who didn't treat her like dirt!" Tani snapped. Doctor Jones came over to her.

"What's going on?" Doctor Jones asked.

"None of your business, hologram!" Tani replied.

"This is my Sickbay, I don't see why you have to argue here," Doctor Jones said.

"Because I have a point to make," Tani said.

"I don't get it, I thought we understood why we both did certain things," Ashley said.

"If it was us in the same situation as Jessie and James, you'd be having a party unlike.." Tani said.

"I wouldn't be having a party, don't be stupid," Ashley said.

"Well you sure wouldn't be pouring your heart out for everyone to see, that's for sure," Tani said.

"No offense, but we're a lot different than those two. For one thing, we aren't a couple!" Ashley yelled.

"That's a bloody good thing, but it wasn't my point," Tani muttered.

"What was your point?" Ashley asked.

"Forget it, you don't care," Tani said.

"Well of course I do," Ashley said.

"You had a funny way of showing it," Tani muttered.

"So did you," Ashley said.

"Finally, we're getting somewhere. We didn't even show that we cared about each other. This is exactly why I hated Jessie for all this time, she had an almost perfect childhood friendship still going strong, and what did I have?" Tani said.

"Tani, it's a little late for this now. We're not friends anymore. I'm sorry that we didn't have what you'd call a perfect friendship, but there's nothing we can do about it now," Ashley said.

Tani sighed. "Yeah, you're right, you have a point," she said quietly.

"Well, there may not be hope for us two anymore, but there's still a chance for you and Lena," Ashley said.

"Not this again, just go away," Tani said.

Ashley sighed, and he walked out of the room.

"Well, if you're sticking around you could assist me," Doctor Jones said.

"With what?" Tani muttered.

"I'm going to try and revive Jessie, I need some assistance," Doctor Jones replied.

"I can't help," Tani said.

"Well if you at least try, it might make you feel better about this," Doctor Jones said.

Tani stood in mid thought for a couple of seconds, and she finally nodded her head in agreement.

**Five**** minutes later, RTV Studios:**  
The rest of the band were back stage, talking about nothing in particular.

In: "Sickbay to Stuart."

James tapped his commbadge. "Yeah?"

In: "Good news, Jessie is alive and well all thanks to me."

Three band members started laughing and hugging each other.

In: "Ahem.."

In: "Oh yeah, and Tani helped."

The band stopped their celebrations so suddenly.

"Tani?" Lena said questioningly.

In: "Well it made me feel a little better after all the crap I've been through."

"Well we'd better get back then, guys," Craig said.

**Sickbay:**  
Jessie was sitting on the biobed talking to James, Craig and Duncan. Lena was standing next to Tani at the other side of the room, just watching them.

"I don't get it, why did you want to help?" Lena asked.

"What happened to me and Ashley started to make me rethink about a few things. I finally worked out why I hated Jessie so much," Tani replied.

"Well?" Lena said questioningly.

"I was just jealous of what she had. I wasn't really hating her, I was hating myself. She had this great guy as a best friend since she was a kid. What did I have?" Tani said questioningly

"Ashley wasn't that bad at all," Lena muttered.

"I know that. You know what we were both like. One day we'd be joking around, the next we'd be arguing about some stupid thing. I've watched James and Jessie for ages, and whenever they had a fight they instantly made up, and forgot about it. All the things they fought about were big and serious," Tani said.

"You and Ashley made up quickly too, I don't see the point," Lena said.

"Yeah, but with some incidents I didn't forgive him even though I acted like I did. Anyway I really helped Jessie because I wanted to make it up to her," Tani said.

Lena smiled. "Well, I think you're going to have to tell her yourself," she said.

"I was wondering though, how did we end up fighting?" Tani asked.

"Like you and Ashley, over something small and silly," Lena replied.

"Oh yeah, I don't think I apologised for overreacting in 'Games Resistance'," Tani said.

"Forget about it, I have," Lena said.

"I've been acting like a complete bch for a few months, I can't forget it," Tani said.

"I said, forget about it. I know what'll make you feel better," Lena said.

"What?" Tani said questioningly.

"Well, there's this song..." Lena started to say.

**Holodeck 2, a****n hour later**  
"This isn't like any of our other videos," Jessie said.

"Yeah well, Tani helped us today. We have to help her," Lena said.

"But how's this depressing video going to help?" Craig asked.

"Sometimes the best cure is to let everything out, this video will do the trick if you know what I mean," Lena replied.

"Well I think it's a good idea for a video," James said.

"Thanks, at least somebody thinks it's a good idea," Lena said.

"We'd better get filming then," Jessie said.

"We'd better get used to the song first," Lena said, she pressed a few buttons on the console nearby. The song 'Bittersweet' came on.

"When are we going to record it, don't we usually do the recording before the video shoot?" Craig asked.

"Well we don't usually add the song to the film until after we've finished. We can just use Steps' version for the time being," Lena replied. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

**The day after Boxing Day**  
**RTV Studios:**  
Virus were standing on the stage, with Tani, behind a huge crowd that the announcer was standing in.

"This is the day we've not been looking forward to, this is the day that Virus and Pulse's ship leaves orbit. For all those who have just joined us now, Pulse performed Turn Back Time for us. Now we're joined by the incredible Virus for their leaving song," the announcer said.

The song didn't start straight away. Lena went forward in front of the others, Tani followed her. Lena now has light orange hair.

"This song is dedicated to our friend here. She's been through a rough time, so we decided to let her join us for this performance," Lena said.

"We'd also like to thank all the people who've supported us during our stay here," Jessie said. The audience cheered loudly.

"Also, this song is for you as well," Lena said. The music for 'Bittersweet' started.

Jessie sang the first half of the first verse, and Tani sang the second half surprisingly well. The band all stood together as they sang the chorus.

Lena sang the second verse, and she was joined by Tani. This time the band and Tani sang the chorus together. They then stood in formation, with Tani in the middle. Jessie and James were at her sides. Lena was next to James, and Craig was next to Jessie.

James and Jessie stepped forward to sing the last verse. They had their arms around each other as they sang. James kissed Jessie on the cheek just before the chorus restarted. They stepped back to join the others.

The chorus was sang twice, the second time round the band had split up and they were wandering around the stage. Near the end they regrouped and they stood with their backs to the crowd in a mini circle. They turned their heads to the side just as the song finished.

**THE END**


End file.
